News

Albany police chief details events leading up to the arrest of teacher James Izumizaki

By Kristin J. Bender Oakland Tribune

Posted:
10/04/2012 07:03:04 PM PDT

Updated:
10/04/2012 07:09:11 PM PDT

Albany Police Chief Mike McQuiston said in a statement that this is the process and the laws that were followed before the arrest of James Izumizaki:

Police received notice from the school district, which is required by law to report allegations of impropriety, that Izumizaki had a relationship with at least one minor.

Albany police began an investigation into that alleged relationship.

Alleged victims and witnesses were interviewed and investigators collected additional evidence that confirmed information from those interviews.

A police detective presented the evidence to an Alameda County Superior Court judge in the form of a declaration of probable cause.

California Penal Code 817 describes this process: " ... if, and only if, satisfied from the declaration that there exists probable cause that the offense described in the declaration has been committed and that the defendant described therein has committed the offense, shall issue a warrant of probable cause for the arrest of the defendant."

McQuiston said this step provided judicial scrutiny of the evidence.

A judge issued the warrant of probable cause for arrest. Officers were directed to make an arrest and searched Izumizaki's home and cars. Izumizaki was arrested without incident at his Albany home on the morning of Sept. 26.

Advertisement

The "speed with which this arrest was made is a compliment to the lead investigator and is typical of cases where we want to act quickly to limit the destruction or concealment of evidence, and/or the compromise or concealment of witnesses," McQuiston said.

Police are required by law to file a document with the court clerk stating the date and time the warrant was served, the name of the person arrested, the location of the arrest and where the person is jailed. They are also required to file with the court on the search warrants, describing what they found and what we seized. Police have not indicated if those documents were filed.

The investigation continues and will continue until all known leads are exhausted.

Police will also continue to investigate to ensure that any digital record created during the commission of a crime with a juvenile does not last into perpetuity, "as 21st century technology now seems to allow," McQuiston said.

Izumizaki died before being charged with a crime; there will be no public trial or court proceedings.

If officers "should discover any information during our investigation that might help the school district better protect their students, we will share that information with them," McQuiston said.